The (Vast) Verb Forms Page:
Hmmmm....form: an arrangement, a pattern. As in:
Deform: mess up the pattern.
Reform: make a new and hopefully better pattern.
Formulate: create a pattern.
Perform: demonstrate a pattern.
Format: apply a pattern.
Conform: follow an established pattern.
(Seems to be a pattern.)
Verbs have forms.
They have various patterns.
We use different patterns to mean slightly different things.
Today I eat.
("eat" means eat now, in the present.)
Yesterday I ate.
("ate" means what I did to a sandwich yesterday)
Over the years I have eaten about twenty cows worth of hamburger.
("eaten" along with the helping verb, "have", means that while this happened in the past, it took a while.)
Each verb in the above three sentence means to consume food.
The patterns, the forms of the verb add to their meaning by placing the "eating" in different time zones.
For a more thorough examination of how and when to use various forms, please jump to the Verb Agreement Page.
To return to Step Two, click here.
